


Welcome Home, Riolu!

by VJuniorVasquez



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: M/M, Told you more fluff was coming!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23599876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VJuniorVasquez/pseuds/VJuniorVasquez
Summary: Ash and Gou had no idea that the Pokemon that hatched that day was going to change their lives so much...
Relationships: Gou/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 21
Kudos: 203





	Welcome Home, Riolu!

**Author's Note:**

> What? You didn't expect another fic so soon? xD  
> Enjoy this one before the new chapter comes out tomorrow and completely destroys this cannon!

When Gou got back to the Pokemon Center after a catching spree that afternoon, his best friend and crush, Ash Ketchum, was still staring at the incubator in one of the rooms.

“How is it?” Gou questioned, looking at the egg

“Nurse Joy said his vitals are fine, and he’s gonna hatch in the next 12 to 18 hours”

“He?” Gou said

Ash turned around and nodded

“He’s a boy, I can feel it” the trainer confirmed

Go didn’t argue with the other boy, but he was really interested to discover how Ash could know the gender of the future Pokemon baby with only looking at the egg. As if somehow he could read his mind, the raven haired boy continued:

“I can sense it, he’s waiting in there, ready to hatch, but he doesn’t want to come out, not yet”

“What else do you know about this mysterious egg?” Gou asked, bringing a chair next to Ash and sitting beside him

“Well, I know his gender, his species and I know why we didn’t find his parents anywhere around that abandoned building”

The boy from Vermillion City raised an eyebrow

“You’re an amazing person, Ash” he said, and a blush appeared in his cheeks for a moment “But I highly doubt you can know all of that”

“It’s a boy. I can feel his passion, his desire to explore, his eagerness to come out of that egg”

“Okay…” Gou murmured, but Ash wasn’t finish yet

“His little body is filled with a mystical energy, a wave that powers each and every single living being on this planet, but its most commonly found and associated with this Pokemon”

“Who are you and what you did with Ash Ketchum?” Gou asked with a smile

The trainer blinked twice and looked at the other boy, Gou tried to explain himself:

“I’ve never seen you talking like that, it’s the first time since the moment I met you that you haven’t used onomatopoeia or a weird, non-existent term to talk about a Pokemon”

“You don’t like it?” Ash asked and Gou could see some sadness reflected in his eyes, he quickly (and very bravely) took his hands and commented:

“Please… tell me more”

Ash looked back at the egg, but when Gou tried to let go of his hand, the boy pressed it firmly, forcing him to stay in place, with their fingers intertwined

“It’s a Riolu” Ash simply said

“What about their parents?”

“The place where we found it, they were there before, with at least other four eggs, but all of those Riolu hatched already, and since the Aura I felt there was too diffused, I guess their parents got tired of waiting for him to hatch and…”

Ash’s voice broke, so Gou completed:

“They left him there, alone”

“Which is why I have to wait here, I don’t want him to be alone when he comes out of that egg”

“You want to catch him?” Gou hypothesized

“I’ve taken care of many Pokemon babies before, if Riolu wants to come with us, I’ll happily accept him, but it’s his choice”

Gou remained silent, and the two boys stared at the egg together for the rest of the night.

Gou woke up startled, almost falling off his chair. He squeezed the blanket covering his body, noticing it wasn’t there before he fell asleep. Ash, still looking at the egg, simply whispered:

“You looked cold, sorry if I wake you up”

“It’s fine Ash, thank you. How did Nurse Joy let us stay here after hours?”

“I can be pretty insistent” the trainer said, and Gou chuckled

“And this?” Gou questioned, picking up the blanket

“I thought you might get cold” Ash said and in the middle of the darkness, the other boy didn’t notice he was blushing “Go back to sleep, Riolu doesn’t want to come out yet and you need to rest”

Gou obeyed quietly; flustered by the fact that Ash cared so much about him…

Gou felt a pressure in his arm and opened his eyes. Ash was staring at him with a big smile

“It’s time” he whispered, and Gou got up from his chair and walked towards the incubator

“It’s my first time seeing a Pokemon hatching” the other boy commented, staring at the now very brightly egg

Ash didn’t know exactly why, but this felt important, so he took Gou’s hand and mirrored his movements, waiting a few seconds…

Finally, the egg cracked. A green light flashed, indicating that life support was no longer necessary, and the incubator opened immediately. Gou stared at the Pokemon, Ash’s story seemed believable, but now he knew his crush was right.

A little Riolu was sitting there, with his eyes closed and his palms between his legs. The two boys breath stopped for a moment, the worry in their faces was evident.

Riolu wasn’t moving. Gou let go of Ash’s hand and tried to touch the Pokemon, but the other boy stopped him and their hands intertwined again.

Right in that moment, Riolu opened its eyes. He stared at the two humans and saw their hands, frozen n the air. The Pokemon got up and put a palm over each one.

And when Riolu smiled, Ash and Gou stopped to worry and their hearts melted at the image.

“Since we haven’t been able to locate his parents” Nurse Joy said to Ash “You can take him to a shelter, or you can adopt him”

Ash, holding Riolu in his arms, quickly replied:

“Where do I sign?”

Apparently understanding what the humans were saying, Riolu clapped happily

A few minutes later, Riolu met Pikachu and Raboot. The electric Pokemon laughed when the fight type put a palm over his head and rubbed his fur a little. Riolu tried to repeat the action with Raboot, and Gou and Ash stayed in close distance, fearing that maybe the fire type wouldn’t react in the best way.

However, as soon as Riolu touched Raboot’s ears, the other Pokemon took his hands out of his fur and hugged him, staying in that position for several seconds.

“That’s a relief” Gou commented and as soon as he heard his voice, Riolu ran to him. The boy kneeled down and Riolu touched his arms insistently.

“Oh, you want me to pick you up?”

“Ri!” the baby exclaimed, nodding

Gou smiled back and hugged Riolu, holding him in his chest. Ash looked at the scene and couldn’t help but crack a smile.

The Pallet Town Native suggested that, since Riolu was just a few days old, leaving him in Sakuragi’s Park wouldn’t be the best idea. Gou agreed, and the two boys decided to leave him out of his Pokeball and let him explore as much as he wanted, always keeping an eye on him.

Riolu couldn’t be happier, but his attitude changed when night came and the boys decided to go to sleep. As always, Gou lay in the top bunk; Ash picked the one below, with Pikachu staying by his side. Meanwhile, Raboot simply stood against the wall with his eyes closed.

Riolu looked at the boys and Ash felt some uncertainty coming from him.

“You can choose Gou’s bunk” he commented “I don’t mind”

Riolu denied with his head, and Gou say

“Sleep with Ash then, and I’ll see you in the morning”

After another negative, Raboot opened his eyes and approached Riolu, he pointed at the two beds, seemingly explaining something. Riolu looked at Ash, then at Gou…

And then he started to cry. The two boys got up as quickly as they could, rushing to his side, Riolu was still crying when Ash sat in the floor and put a hand on his head. Gou watched them and the baby motioned him to approach, when the boy did that, Riolu took his hand and placed it atop Ash’s.

The boys looked away, both of them blushing. When Ash tried to ask Riolu why he did that, he stopped. The Emanation Pokemon was fast asleep. Gou looked at him and both of them nodded.

If that was the only way to calm Riolu down, then they would have to stay like that for as long as they could.

When morning came, Gou woke up, only to see he was sleeping on Ash’s chest. He tried to move away, but discovered the trainer wrapped an arm around his waist.

Riolu was still asleep, sharing a little space between the two boys.

“We need your help, Professor” a distressed Ash say, holding Riolu and with Gou practically touching the side of his body

Sakuragi looked at the boys, and his assistants did the same,, waiting for an explanation.

“Watch this” Gou said and turned around, leaving the room

As soon as he did that, Riolu started to cry. Gou returned quickly and Ash put the baby Pokemon in his hands, this time, Ash was the one leaving, and Riolu cried again, only calming down as soon as he saw Ash again.

“Let me guess” Sakuragi said with a little chuckle “You were together when Riolu hatched, right?”

Both boys nodded

“Too close to each other?” Renji asked

“We were… holding hands” Gou admitted, blushing once again

“Awwww…” Kikuna said, and immediately coughed when all the eyes in the room stared at her “I mean, maybe that’s why Riolu thinks you should be together, because that’s the first thing he saw when he was born”

“We can’t be together all the time” Ash said, and even though Gou frowned, he knew his crush was right

In that moment, the creature in his arms started to shout

“Stop!” Ash demanded, but the little Pokemon kept going “Why are you doing this, Riolu?”

“I think he doesn’t want you two to be apart” Sakuragi said

“He got mad when you said you can’t be together all the time!” Renji agreed, also shouting

“Fine!” Gou accepted, looking at Riolu “Ash and I will spend more time together, but please, stop crying”

Riolu ceased momentarily and looked up to Ash, titling his head

“Lu?”

The boy understood

“I promise that too, but please, no more crying”

Riolu nodded happily. Ash and Gou were about to leave when they noticed the three adults in the room were staring at them with a suspicious grin on their faces.

“What?”

Kikuna decided to speak out for her partners and commented:

“Remember that Riolu can feel people’s emotions, so if he wants you two to stay together, it must be for a reason”

Gou simply turned around and got out of the room, completely flustered, Ash, of course, didn’t understand what the woman meant, but either way he ran behind his friend, afraid that Riolu might start to cry again

“He’s gonna realize at some point” Sakuragi said, looking at the Pallet Town boy

Sun was setting in the horizon when Ash and Gou returned to the lab, Pikachu was perched on his trainer’s shoulder and Gou was carrying Riolu. From a distance, Raboot followed them.

They entered the building and were greeted by Koharu

“You look terrible” she said

“Riolu doesn’t want us to be apart” Gou confessed “I only managed to catch three Pokemon today, and I fell in the mud after a Dwebble escaped from me”

“And I only had one battle” Ash complained “And I almost lost it”

Riolu looked at the raven haired boy and as soon as a tear started to escape from his eye, Ash took him and hugged him:

“But not because of you, Riolu” he said, kissing the Pokemon’s forehead “It wasn’t your fault”

“I’m going to take a shower” Gou said, going up the stairs

And Riolu immediately started to cry.

“What’s wrong with him?” Koharu screamed

“I told you, he doesn’t like to see us apart from each other. Hey Gou, maybe we should…” Ash suggested, and Gou blushed furiously, already knowing what he was going to say

“No, we’re not taking a bath together Ash!”

“But he’s so sad!” Ash countered, showing him the still crying Riolu

The boy ran up the stairs and Ash and Koharu stayed there, trying to calm down the little Pokemon

Night finally came, and Gou and Ash went to their respective beds. Riolu stood a few meters away, watching them intensely.

“Please don’t cry, please don’t cry, please don’t…” Gou whispered

However, Riolu did something else: He climbed the stairs to Gou’s bunk and started to tug his shirt

“What?”

“Ri, Ri” the baby said, insisting

Gou sat on the bed and Riolu imitated his movements

“What do you need?”

“Ri, Ri” Riolu insisted, tugging his pants this time and pointing down

“You want me to follow you?”

“Ri!”

Gou got off of his bed and made his way to the door, but stopped as soon as he heard Riolu’s voice

“Ri!”

The Emanation Pokemon was pointing at Ash’s bed, the trainer already fell asleep and Gou denied with his head

“I’m not doing that”

“Ri!”

“I am not!” Gou pressed, walking to Riolu and picking him up “Either you sleep with me or with Ash, you can’t take us both”

“Ri…” Riolu whispered, and the tears escaping from his eyes forced Gou to wake up his crush

After a long and very embarrassing explanation, Ash invited Gou to his bed. Both trainers stayed with his back against each other’s, but Riolu wasn’t happy with that. He climbed to the bed and forced Gou to turn around, after a few seconds, he tugged Ash’s shirt, making him face Gou.

Ash and Gou had no option but stare at each other, and the moonlight revealed how flustered both of them were. Riolu found a space between the two of them and decided to sleep there. After a few minutes, his breathing slowed down, and Gou whispered:

“I should go back to my bed”

“Don’t” Ash ordered, putting an arm over his waist “If Riolu wakes up and you’re not here with me, he’s not gonna like it”

Gou looked down. Riolu was still sleeping peacefully

“Besides” Ash continued “I like being this close to you”

“You do?” Gou questioned and his heart missed a beat

“I think… Riolu is doing this because this is what I want” Ash commented

Gou needed to know more, so he pressed:

“What do you want?” he asked and Ash’s hand made his way to his cheek, while the trainer whispered

“Being… closer to you”

Separated from his crush’s lips by only a few centimeters, Gou said:

“You think it’s too soon for Riolu to evolve?”

“Why?”

“Well, Riolus usually evolve when they have a strong bond with their trainers, and since our Riolu seems to think we’re both his trainers, maybe…”

Gou stopped for a second, he really wanted Ash to catch the message, and he really hoped this was the moment, so he continued:

“Maybe we should form a deeper bond first”

“You want to kiss me, don’t you?” Ash asked out of the blue and Gou nodded quickly, his face full red at this point

“Yes” the Vermillion boy confessed

“Let’s give it a shot, then” Ash said closing the distance between him and his crush and placing a soft kiss on his lips

Riolu didn’t evolve that night, but Ash and Gou remained together…

**Author's Note:**

> Ideas, comments, etcetera?  
> The box down below it's always open to suggestions!  
> See you around guys, and thank you for so much support!


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